Pages

3.05.2018

What I Learned | Winter 2017-18

Vulnerability. I'm learning that even though vulnerability isn't always easy, it's so so worth it. "Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're never weakness." -Brené Brown in Daring Greatly. Also, this: "Vulnerability is about having the courage to speak your mind by revealing your true heart, even though you might be wounded in the process." -Tim Suttle in his book Shrink.

Justin Timberlake's new album "Man of the Woods" is stinkin' good. There are a couple songs I'm not crazy about, but for the most party it's a really catchy album. I think it is really sweet how much his wife is on the album and how much the lyrics speak to his marriage and family. I really like the songs The Hard Stuff and Young Man. Sauce and Man of the Woods are fun, make you want to get up and dance, songs! I dig it JT, I dig it!

Steal like an artist. I got this book years ago by Austin Kleon called Steal Like an Artist. I revisited this book recently and for different reasons. I am a graphic designer by trade but am now a full-time mom. I see other moms kicking butt and taking names and I admire it (sometimes in a healthy ways, sometimes not). I want to implement things they do but am afraid to because it is "their thing." Kleon shares in this book, "If we're free from the burden of trying to be completely original, we can stop trying to take something out of nothing, and we can embrace influence instead of running away from it." I'm learning to collect all of the influences that I admire and remix it into something that fits me and my family.

Norah. I'm learning that Norah LOVES books. She will carry around a book until someone picks her up and reads it to her. She is a smart little girl.

Shame resilience. As mentioned, I am reading Brené Brown's book Daring Greatly. Her research is all about vulnerability and shame. She talks about the concept of shame resilience and what that looks like in the context of our lives. "Shame hangs out in the parking lot of the arena, waiting for us to come out defeated and determined to never take risks. It laughs and says, 'I told you this was a mistake. I knew you weren't (fill in the blank) enough.' Shame resilience is the ability to say, 'This hurts. This is disappointing, maybe even devastating. But success and recognition and approval are not the values that drive me. My value is courage and I was just courageous. You can move on, shame." I'm also learning how much I value courage in myself and in others!

Isaiah is re-earning his title as "monkey". He has started climbing out of his crib which means it is officially time to make the switch to the big boy bed. I am learning what it looks like to negotiate with a 3 year old. I'm also learning how to have a better poker face.

After the fall. Isaiah got a really cute children's book for Christmas called After the Fall. It is the story about how Humpty Dumpty got back up again. I think I cried the first time I read it.

Books. If you haven't caught onto this yet, I have been reading a lot of books. I have a stack about a mile high that I want to read. I also have about 15 in the "save for later" section in my Amazon cart!

Well there you have it. The winter edition of "What I Have Been Learning..."